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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Anita McSorley

Who is the new Love Island presenter? Maya Jama makes debut as show returns to Virgin Media

Love Island returns to Irish TV screens tonight, fronted by new presenter Maya Jama.

She takes over from Laura Whitmore, who quit the programme at the end of the last series.

The winter version of the hit show begins on Virgin Media Two at 9pm and will see 10 new contestants look for romance.

READ MORE: Love Island first look as host Maya Jama arrives by helicopter for South African series

It’s being filmed in South Africa, where temperatures are forecast to hit 28C today.

Here’s what we know about the new host.

Maya Jama is an English TV and radio presenter and DJ. The 28-year-old was born in Bristol to parents of Somali and Swedish descent and has one brother.

In 2012 she moved to London to pursue a career in acting before turning to presenting.

Love Island is not her first presenting role. She co-presented BBC One's Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer alongside Peter Crouch and Alex Horne, and is presenter of the BBC Three competition Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star.

Maya also co-presented Trending Live! on 4Music from 2015 until 2017, Cannonball on ITV in 2017, the MTV show True Love or True Lies in 2018, and the first series of The Circle with Alice Levine on Channel 4.

In radio, she hosted #DriveWithMaya on Rinse FM from 2014 to 2017, and co-presented Radio 1's Greatest Hits and presented her eponymous show, Maya Jama on BBC Radio 1 from 2018 to 2020.

It comes as she spotted arriving at Love Island in style, touching down near the villa in a helicopter.

(ITV)

Pictures also show her meeting the group of male Islanders.

As the new series kicks off, a helicopter circles over the Villa and the pilot announces: "Maya Jama on board." As it lands, a glamorous Maya steps out and heads towards the villa ready for the brand new series, Mirror UK reports.

"It’s a new year, in a brand new Villa, it's a stunning location ready for some sexy singles looking for love, all we need now are some Islanders," she says as she heads into the fancy new villa and comes face to face with the boys.

Maya and the boys: Kai, Will, Haris, Ron and Shaq. (ITV)

Turning to them, she says: "Hello boys, you alright, shall we have a little chat?"

The boys then form a line as they wait for the girls to arrive.

Maya previously opened up hosting the new series, as she revealed she's been a fan of the show for years.

She said: "I've been a fan for years. It was the first reality show, other than Big Brother, that I made sure I was back at a certain time to watch and all my friends and family were speaking about.

"Everyone gets involved, everyone has opinions - from the older people in your family to the younger ones. It’s just fun, it’s fun to see how people play out in different situations and wonder what you would do if you were in the same position.

"Most of us have had a bit of a holiday romance before and it’s like watching that on telly."

Love Island returns for a new series on Monday 16th January at 9pm on Virgin Media Two.

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